Dove joined the Parliamentarian's office in 1966.[2] He was named Parliamentarian of the United States Senate in 1981 and remained in this position until he was dismissed by DemocraticMajority LeaderRobert Byrd in 1987 after the Democratic Party obtained a majority and control of the Senate.[3][4] He was replaced by Alan Frumin.
He served on the staff of Senator Robert Dole from 1987 until 1995, when he was again appointed Parliamentarian of the United States Senate. In 2001, he determined that Senate rules allow only one budget bill per year related to revenue to be immune from filibuster, a process known as reconciliation.[5]
Provisions in a reconciliation bill, one provided for in section 310 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, may be deleted because the Parliamentarian may find it only has policy implications and no budgetary implications, and hence be subject to a point of order.[6]
Later that year, Dove ruled to remove a Republican provision to allocate over $5 billion in the 2002 budget for natural disasters.[5]
Following Republican anger about these rulings, he was dismissed by RepublicanMajority LeaderTrent Lott.[7]
He was again replaced by Alan Frumin.
Upon leaving the United States Senate, he became a professor at The George Washington University, specializing in Congressional issues.[8]
^"AEI Politics Watch, Session III: The Past, Present, and Future of the Filibuster". American Enterprise Institute. March 12, 2010. He has acted as parliamentary consultant to numerous foreign government entities such as the Russian Duma, the Yemen Parliament, the Kuwait Parliament, the Bulgarian Legislature, and the Polish Legislature. He has served as the parliamentarian for the Republican Platform Committee at several Republican National Conventions.
